I just finished working my way through The Natural Way to Paint by my biggest art crush ever, Charles Reid.

This book is full of sketches and paintings Charles has done over the decades. The images are accompanied by explanations of techniques and his opinions about art, all written in a conversational style. The book has an inspiring, genuine voice. Although not for beginners, this book is a wonderful approach to perhaps the most challenging of subjects for visual artists - the human face and figure.

Below are images of some watercolor paintings and studies by Charles Reid.

Swoon...

The spontaneity and lightness of this work is magical.

While reading The Natural Way to Paint, I tried to recreate some of his sketches in my own sketchbook. This is the only way I know to really try to understand an artist's techniques and philosophy. After trying my hand with Reid's exercises, I drew and painted from my own images, applying what I learned.

Here are some of the pages from my sketchbook.

Charles Reid is a master watercolorist and I had the honor of interviewing him a few years ago. If you would like to read that interview, you can find it here.